No more Signalmen????

I got out in 92 as an SM3. The navy has since killed the rate. Something about being more novelty than necessary. When something happens that blocks radio waves and ships start bouncing off one another feel free to give me a call.

Signalmen have been gone for years, as have Boiler Techs, Radio Men, Data Systems Techs, Disbursing Clerks, Personnelmen, and many others. Quartermasters almost got absorbed into Operations Specialists but that got cancelled. There has been a lot of rate consolidation and outright disbanding the last 15 years or so.

Dad was Navy, Aviation Boatswains Mate. Philli Sea CV-47, Korea
I did 6 in the Marines.
I still can't figure out Navy rates and ranks.

USN is a world unto it's self.

LOL yeah it's different, but not too hard. We just combine our job with our rank, although you can always just refer to someone by their rank. None of the other services refer to themselves by their job.

For instance. I'm a Senior Chief Petty Officer (E-8), and can always be referred to as "Senior Chief" or just "Senior".

What tends to give people fits is when you add a persons rate to the equation. My rate (basically MOS) is Fire Controlman, or FC, and since I'm a Senior Chief I sign my name officially as FCCS (Fire Controlman, Chief, Senior).

If I get promoted to E-9 (Master Chief Petty Officer, or MCPO), I will be a FCCM (Fire Controlman, Chief, Master), or FCCM.

When I was a E-7 (Chief Petty Officer, CPO) I was FCC (Fire Controlman, Chief), or just "Chief".

As an E-6 (First Class Petty Officer, PO1) I was a FC1 (Fire Controlman, First Class), or just "Petty Officer"

As an E-5 (Second Class Petty Officer, PO2) I was a FC2 (Fire Controlman, Second Class), or just "Petty Officer".

As an E-4 (Third Class Petty Officer, PO3) I was a FC3 (Fire Controlman, Third Class), or just "Petty Officer"

To make things even more mystifying, E-1 through E-3 can be Seaman (SN), Airman (AN), or Fireman (FN) depending on if their rate (MOS) is non-engineering (Seaman), aviation (Airman), or engineering (Fireman). And if the Sailor has not attended a school bestowing a rating they are just referred to Seaman, Airman, or Fireman. You must have a rate to advance to Petty Officer Third Class (PO3).

You said no more RMs in the Coast Guard....what about the Navy? I didnt realize the whole OC division may be gone.

The name Radio Man is gone and has been replaced by Information Systems Technician (IT). They still configure all the communications gear, but now also own the ships Local Area Network (LAN). The Data Systems Tech (DS) guys used to own the LAN on the side but the networks got so big it needed to become a primary job instead of a collateral. DS went away and those guys were absorbed into either Fire Controlman (FC) or Electronic Technicians (ET). The radios are still maintained by the ETs.

On the cruisers and destroyers (CG and DDG), the IT's are part of Combat Systems Department, not Operations like it used to be, and the division is called CC (Combat Communications).

As an aside, the Perry-class frigates (FFG) are all but gone (and haven't had a surface to air missile for years ), they will all be decommissioned in the next couple of years.

Like I said, there has been a TON of rate consolidation because of the massive budget reductions we've been dealt. It's much, much cheaper to disestablish a rate and combine those duties into another than it is to keep two or three entirely separate training and personnel structures going. The duties didn't go away in most cases, just the separate training and administrative structures.

For instance, there are no more Torpedomen (TM), Gunners Mate, Guns (GMG) or Gunners Mate, Missile (GMM) any more. They have all been combined into Gunners Mate (GM) and just attend a school specific to what the Navy needs them to do before they head to a ship.

Personnel Specialists (PS) was established and absorbed Disbursing Clerks (DK) and Personnelmen (PN).

Logistic Specialist (LS) did the same for Postal Clerk (PC) and Store Keeper (SK). Ships Servicemen (SH) still exist.

Signalmen (SM) is long gone, you'd be a Quartermaster (QM) now, and like I said QM almost got absorbed into Operations Specialist (OS), a stupid idea that got way more traction than it deserved. Sadly, nobody knows how to do semaphore or flashing light any more, and they're lucky they can get the correct flags up the halyards in a timely manner.

I don't suppose there's any need for flashing light, if there's nobody knows Morse code! I believe the semaphore and flashing light was for times of radio silence in convoys, probably not the issue it once was.